Do you judge parents who use reins?

[sqirrelfriends]

Just that really. My toddler has recently started walking and is showing interest in being out of his pram when out and about. He is enjoying his newfound independence and will absolutely not hold my hand anymore so I'm worried about keeping him safe and close without having to constantly run after him.

I bought some reins but have been told since that some mums have been receiving nasty comments and have felt really judged for using them (it's like you're walking a dog, lazy parenting etc.)

I was really just wondering what your opinions of them were and if they wouldn't use them, what the reasons would be?

Tia

Yes I do judge parents who use reins. I judge them to be very sensible; keeping control of their dc and making sure they're safe

I have judged someone once...

We were in the zoo, and their "reins" was a extendable dog lead, tied in a knot around the kids tummy 😂

But nope I don't even look at people twice with reins, we used to have the backpack reins which ours, the "lead" could clip off and it could be used as a back pack. My kids loved them

I’m a childminder and I use reins until the children are sensible enough to not run off. I don’t care if others judge me, I’m confident in my decision to keep the children I care for safe and if a parent asked me to stop using them on their child because they didn’t like them, when I thought the child needed to be on them, I would give them immediate notice. A child I look after, who I always have on reins because of their unpredictability but his parents think they are ok just holding hands, was recently collected from my house and walking home when he bolted in to the road. A car screeched to a halt and stopped just in time. The parents have now invested in reins and have completely come round to my way of thinking.

A child can get out of a hand hold in a second, the reins will keep them far safer.

The reason dogs are kept on a lead while walking is because their owners want to keep them safe and out of the road. I want to children out of the road so will use reins on them.

My kids use reins because safety comes first always without exception.

We use armbands or floats to teach our kids to swim safely first.

We use stabilisers to teach them to ride a bike safely first.

Therefore I use reins to teach my children to walk in busy places and cross roads safely first.

Once they have learnt these things well we can take away these safety nets- this to me is simply good parenting.

I judge them. I think they are very sensible!

I use them thanks to a post years ago from @MrsPresley She's probably saved lives with her posts. God bless her.

Small children have zero road sense, it takes a split second for them the slip from an adult's hand no matter how well you think you have hold of them. I would never judge a parent for using reins.

How anyone can judge a parent for trying to keep their child safe absolutely baffles me.
You’d have to be a total dickhead to judge baby reins

May I hijack and ask what type you all find best? Backpack, a harness or the wrist attach ones? FTM so unsure which is best as I can see positive points to all. Thanks all

Yep I judge - I judge that they are sensible parents encouraging toddler to be out of the pushchair, safe and active.

I used reins but though I'm British we lived then in the USA and people called me cruel and worse, I ignored them

I found reins really useful for a shortish period of time, the months when we had a combination of:
DD being too short to comfortably hold my hand for long,
too young to truly understand pavement/road safety
Old enough to want to feel some independence
Unsteady enough for it to be helpful to have something to steady her if she stumbled.

I felt reassured by having the reins and it made life easier for a while. I could have spent the whole time we walked absolutely anywhere vigilantly constantly making a massive deal about teaching my 18 month old road safety but instead I cut us all a bit of slack and used reins sometimes. It's one of those things that only has to be a big deal of you make it one.

I did have a neighbour who constantly tried to let me know that she thought use of reins was inferior to her (ridiculously smug) way of parenting but I always laughed and made a comment about overthinking things.

I used reins on my son - he was a bolter and I'm not that quick on my feet - I never had any negative comments - had lots of older people stop to say they didn't see them used so much anymore and they had them when theirs were little etc.

MN is the most judgy place on earth. I didn't know half the things on here were an issue tbh.

Pink - my dc1 would have been out of the wrist ones in an instant so I used the full harness ones (as others have said - also useful for strapping into a highchair). When mine were little, I don't ever remember seeing the back pack ones so can't comment on those.

I used to get comments about dogs when my twins were on reins. Used to irritate the hell out of me.

Some people are just contemptible fuckwits so why care if they are judging you!

I used them with all 3 of ours, it really encourages independence and you know they are safe.
Anybody who judged me could fuck off. You use the right equipment for the situation.
Please if you want to use them and they are best for you, ignore others. Listen to Mrs Presley

We had a backpack one and it was great, could put little toys or snacks in. Also made me feel more comfortable about other people taking my child out like older grandparents who I knew would never get hold of her if she legged it.
Never had and comments, maybe had looks but to be honest I never paid attention to what other people thought. My child's safety is the only thing I ever cared about.

@PinkDaydreams I used the Little Life backpack and it was fab.

Parents who judge have not had the good fortune to have an absconder of their own

We used the trunki toddle pak ones with dd1 and they'll be coming out again when dd m2 starts walking, it only takes a second for a toddler to run in the road and I wasn't prepared to take that risk. I like the trunki ones because you can easily detach the handle and they keep the harness on when you're in the playground etc without it getting in the way like the backpack ones can.

Right then, I’ll go for a harness one. Can anyone recommend any specific brand/product? I think I want one that I can attach the rein to the side of the pram if that’s possible? Just so I can still push the pram at the same time, little one is 17 months old and not long been walking so he still gets tired so I have to take the pram out.

I love the harness type because holding hands with a 9th centile 15 month old is backbreaking for me. Also removes the risk of pulled elbows if they trip. Ignoring the not getting under a car thing...

I judge parents who DONT tbh! Those who's children run off yet their parents refuse to use reins or put them in a buggy...

I use reins for my LG, wouldn't jugde anyone that did so much safer
I've got trunki ones which I like, easy to unclip the handle for areas that she can run about in safely, do also have a bag back set but not used yet

I'd be interested in some recommendations for reins, it is a long time since my own children were rein wearing age so I have no clue what is on the market these days